Minutes 01 08 04
Wilmington New Hanover Transportation Agency MINUTES OF THE WILMINGTON NEW HANOVER TRANSPORTATION AGENCY January 08, 2004 MEMBERS PRESENT Ms. Christine McNamee, Chair Mr. Robert Ronne,
Secretary Ms. Laura Padgett Ms. Fannie D. Freeman Ms. Maureen McCarthy Mr. William Bryden Mr. Howard Capps MEMBERS ABSENT Mr. John Stukes Ms. Barbara Kane Mr. Jeff Bellows, Vice Chair
Ms. Nancy Pritchett STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, General Manager, Wave Transit Ms. Deborah Houston, Program Manager, NHTS Mr. Mark Tinkler, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington
Mr. Jonathan David, Associate Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington Mr. Bob Kingsbury, NHTS Manager, First Transit Ms. Lawless Bean, TDM Coordinator, City of Wilmington Mr. Lamont
Jackson, Assistant General Manager, Wave Transit GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney, New Hanover County Ms. Dolores Williams, Assistant City Attorney, City of Wilmington
Ms. Annette Crumpton, Director, New Hanover County Department of Aging Ms. Patricia Melvin, Assistant County Manager, New Hanover County Mr. Corey Johnson, Vanpool Program Manager, Two
Plus Inc. Ms. Kris Frasure, Citizen Mr. Ricky Meeks, Citizen CALL TO ORDER Chair McNamee called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes
of the December 11, 2003 meeting was made by Ms. Padgett. The motion was seconded by Mr. Capps and carried unanimously.
WAVE TRANSIT MASTER PLAN Mr. Eby reviewed the Short Range Transit Plan summary. The summary was a synopsis of the draft plan submitted to Wave staff by Kimley Horn & Associates.
Mr. Eby stated that Mr. David would update the Board on the status of the report and when a final report would be committed. Mr. Eby would synopsize the recommendations made in the
draft report. Mr. Eby expressed concern that the report contained financial projections that staff believed unreasonable and most importantly unachievable. The report based its route
structure on a Market Station and a Downtown Station that have not yet been constructed. For these reasons, Mr. Eby informed the Board that in order to prepare a FY 2004-2005 budget
and meet the time constraints of the city and county, staff would have to recommend any route changes, or any day or service hour changes for fiscal year 2004-2005. Mr. Eby informed
the Board that staff would look at changes recommended by the consultant when developing plans for 2004-2005. Route changes implemented in the FY 2004-2005 budget would be based on
transfers occurring at the current downtown location. Mr. David stated that staff had been asked to review the draft report and return their comments to him to pass on to the consultant.
He reported that staff was still trying to get some issues resolved that the consultant had not yet responded to. Mr. Eby reported that as presented, the consultant plan would require
a five to six million-dollar local subsidy. Since the current subsidy is less than one million dollars, the proposed subsidy was believed to be grossly inaccurate as well as unattainable.
Mr. Eby informed the Board that a decision by NCDOT was anticipated soon concerning funding for the maintenance/administration/transfer facility. Should DOT approve the 7.9 million
dollar state contribution to the project, a local match of approximately $880,000.00 would need to be contributed. Ms. McNamee stated that Legislative Committee had discussed the project
and and agreed with staff recommendation on an 80/20 split divide the local match. This recommendation was based on current spending by the city and county toward public transportation.
For every local dollar spent on public transportation in the urban area, the city contributes about 80% to the county’s 20%. A motion to request local funding in the amount approximately
$704,000.00 from the City of Wilmington (80% of local match, 8% of total project) and approximately $176,000.00 from New Hanover County (20% of local match, 2% of total project) was
made by Ms. Padgett. The motion also requested that the transfer facility portion of the project be completed first, if possible, in order to implement restructured routes. The motion
was seconded by Mr. Bryden and carried unanimously. Chair McNamee stated that the 80/20 percent split for financing the maintenance/administration/transfer facility applied only to
this project and future funding levels for local matches would be addressed when appropriate. Mr. Tinkler updated the Board on the Multimodal Transportation Center. No progress has
been made on the project since the last update. He invited the Board on a bus tour of multimodal centers throughout the state on February 10, 2004.
Mr. Eby informed the Board that the route recommendations proposed by the consultant in the draft report would not be implement able until the Market Station was suitable for transfers.
He informed the Board that for FY 2004-2005 staff would propose service changes due to the fact that the consultant report would not be prepared in time to prepare the 04-05 budget
and the fact that the consultant report based their route recommendations on the Market Station. He also informed the Board that the consultant report would require 19 peak buses. Currently
only 18 buses are available. Mr. Bryden made a motion that staff prepare budget recommendations for presentation to the Budget Committee that included detailed cost projections for
the following service improvements: o Reducing peak headways to thirty minutes. o Providing evening service to 9:00pm Monday through Saturday. o Providing Sunday service hourly from
9:30am to 6:00pm. o Providing information and cost of service extension in the Monkey Junction and Shipyard Blvd. Area. o Estimating the paratransit additional costs for the services.
Ms. McCarthy stated the human service priorities from the above proposed requests. Ms. Padgett seconded Mr. Bryden’s motion. Ms. Padgett suggested leasing space in the Market &
Kerr Ave. area in order to implement the restructured routes effective with the 04-05 fiscal year. Mr. Eby replied that staff had considered the idea but concluded that significant
infrastructure improvements would have to be made to any property to withstand the rigors of heavy bus traffic. He also stated that traffic impact was also a concern and traffic control
devices would most likely not be implement able on a short-term basis. Mr. Capps asked for clarification on the headways to be proposed in the FY 04-05 budget. Mr. Eby stated that
the authority was committed to thirty-minute peak headways. Mr. Capps expressed concern that empty buses portrayed a negative image to the public. Mr. Eby agreed and stated that
staff was committed to headways that provided frequent enough service to be attractive while avoiding empty buses on the street. Ms. Freeman stated that feedback she received from
passengers led her to believe that evening service would be utilized. Ms. McCarthy requested additional information on the proposed Shipyard route. Mr. Eby stated that the route
would be created by adding a bus to an existing route that currently serves the area. The route would run every thirty minutes during peak times. Ms. McCarthy suggested that Hwy. 132
be looked at because it was underserved. Mr. Ronne asked staff to clarify the paratransit recommendation in the FY 2004-2005 budget. Ms. McNamee stated that she would like to see
the NHTS contractor operate human service and paratransit transportation and the WTA contractor operate fixed-route operations. Mr. Eby briefly explained the funding obstacles that
could complicate this request. Since NHTS utilizes mostly state funds, federal regulations are not an issue. Mr. Eby stated that staff would address the concerns of the Board and
strive to bring the budget committee a recommendation that met these requests.
Mr. Bryden’s motion carried unanimously. Mr. Capps asked if the county budget contained the funds necessary to paint its current fleet white. Ms. Houston reported that funds for
this initiative had been requested but not yet approved. She stated that the newest vehicles acquired were white. Mr. Tinkler updated the Board that Mr. Wilson had just informed
him that DOT funding in the amount of approximately 7.9 million dollars for the Wave maintenance/administration/transfer facility had just been approved at the Board of Transportation
meeting. He went on to remind the Board that the initiative required projects be done in less than two years and that the Board and staff should be prepared to act as quickly as possible
once the local funding issue was resolved. Chair McNamee reviewed the timeline and responsibilities for the previous discussion. o Staff would be responsible for preparing the requested
budgetary information to present to the Budget committee. o She requested feedback on a meeting meeting date. o She informed the Board that State Representative McComas had requested
to speak to the Board concerning legislative issues concerning public transportation. o City of Wilmington Development Services Director Wayne Clark had also requested to speak to the
Board concerning the city’s land use plan. o The Chair suggested two February meetings to meet these requests as well as make final preparations for the joint City Council and County
Commissioner meeting tentatively set for February 16, 2004. o A special meeting or the WNHTA Board of Directors was scheduled for Monday, February 02, 2004 at 12:00pm in the WTA Board
Room. REPORT FROM THE TRANSIT DIRECTOR COMMITTEE Committee Chair Ronne stated that the committee was on time and on target to have a recommendation for a Director by January 15, 2004.
He stated that the committee has identified four candidates for interview. Presentation of the preferred candidate would be made at the regularly scheduled February meeting on February
12, 2004. 2004. Mr. Bryden asked if the Board had identified a starting date for the Director. Mr. Ronne stated that the date would be negotiable since all four candidates scheduled
to interview were currently employed. REPORT FROM THE YEAR TWO INTERLOCAL & LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Committee Vice-Chair Ronne stated that much of the committees meeting from earlier
in the day had been discussed. He mentioned that the budget, the maintenance/administration/transfer facility and personnel issues were discussed with representatives from the city
and county legal, finance and human resources departments. A plan to have the Board hire, dismiss and supervise the director, assistant director and administrative assistant, while
these employees were utilizing benefits and payroll support from the city and/or county was being investigated. This arrangement would be effective with the creation of the Cape Fear
Public Transportation Authority on July 01, 2004 if possible.
REPORT FROM THE MARKETING COMMITTEE Committee Chair McCarthy stated that due to the pressing issues of budget, personnel, and legislative issues, formal committee meetings were on
hold to allow staff time to address other concerns. Ms. McCarthy informed the Board that she was on the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities. The Mayor’s Committee had
requested that Wave Transit investigate allowing travel trainers the ability to ride free while showing people with disabilities how to ride the bus. She informed the Board that she
had spoken with staff about the issue and staff suggested that she identify two or three human service agencies that would be responsible for distribution and oversight of a limited
number of one or two ride tickets provided by Wave at no cost for travel training. Mr. Eby stated that the program would only cost the authority the cost of the tickets which was minimal.
The Board agreed that this was an initiative worth investigating. Mr. Eby sought clarification from the Board concerning the authority logo once the Cape Fear Public Transportation
Authority was created in July. The Board agreed that the word Wave with the pelican and the two wavy lines would be the logo. No words would appear under the pelican and waves. Mr.
Eby stated that this logo would be included on the new trolleys in gold colors to keep with the trolley theme. REPORT FROM THE BUDGET COMMITTEE Committee Chair Bryden provided the
Board with preliminary proposed budget figures for FY 2004-2005. He informed the Board that the numbers were still strictly a proposal. He welcomed feedback concerning the presentation.
He scheduled a budget committee meeting for Monday, January 26, 2004 at 1:00pm in the WTA Boardroom. REPORT FROM THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE Mr. Capps reported that the committee would
schedule to meet soon since the maintenance/administration/transfer facility issue has been funded. REPORT FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER Mr. Eby updated the Board on the Brunswick Connector
project. He included a copy of the proposal and budget for the connector in the agenda packet. He reported that the number of passengers was currently below original expectations
but expressed optimism that the numbers would improve with marketing initiatives to be implemented by Two Plus, Inc. Details of the marketing plan were still in development but were
expected in the coming weeks. Saturday service of the connector was eliminated due to poor ridership, but could be revisited should it be deemed necessary. Mr. Eby informed the Board
that implementation of thirty-minute headways on all routes was underway and target implementation was slated for February 02, 2004. The plan would include weekday service only.
Bus operators have been hired and were currently in training.
Painting of the two Thomas buses to match the existing fleet was nearing completion. Route modification was currently being evaluated. Updated route maps would be printed in the
coming weeks. Mr. Eby introduced new Assistant General Manager Lamont Jackson and asked him to review the route changes necessary for thirty-minute headway implementation. Current
route structuring would be impacted only minimally, if at all. The initiative is seen as a convenience issue that passengers would acclimate to relatively quickly. Major marketing
for the reduction in headways would not be necessary, but the authority would use the frequency of service in future marketing efforts in an attempt to make the system more attractive
to potential passengers. PUBLIC INFORMATION Wilmington resident Mr. Ricky Meeks addressed the Board with concerns for service to Monkey Junction. He asked that service to Monkey
Junction via the Blue Line and Park and Ride South be more frequent and operate on a schedule that was consistent. Mr. Meeks requested that the # 6 route be studied to reduce left
turns and move through traffic more easily. Chair McNamee thanked Mr. Meeks for his comments and informed Mr. Meeks that the marketing and budget committees were currently studying
his concerns. OTHER BUSINESS, SECHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING Mr. Ronne requested an update on Airlie Gardens request for bus service for the Airlie Festival. Mr. Eby stated that a letter
to Mr. Mishler was included in the agenda packet and that staff had received no information from Mr. Mishler addressing other communities’ use of public transportation vehicles for festivals.
A special meeting of the Board was scheduled for February 02, 2004 at 12:00pm in the Wave Board room. The next regularly scheduled meeting was scheduled for Thursday February 12,
2004 at 12:00pm in the Wave Board room. Hearing no further business, a motion was made by Ms. McCarthy for adjournment. The motion was seconded by Mr. Capps and carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Wave General Manager